Jennie Endsley: Directing a League, Creating Memories

It’s another cool and crisp fall morning. The leaves are beginning to change and more layers are starting to be worn. Most people think of autumn as football season, but at the Joe Nuxhall Miracle League Fields, autumn means it’s baseball season. 

The youth league plays on Saturday mornings. While the players will be busy playing, no one will be busier than Jennie Endsley. 

Endsley is the director of the Greater Miami Valley (GMV) YMCA Youth League, a role that she has held since 2017. Although Endsley has been working with the YMCA for 25 years, her experience with the youth league started due to family. 

Jennie Endsley and her daughter, Anna, volunteering for the Miracle Series in Pigeon Forge.

“I actually got started because my daughter wanted to come out and be a volunteer with the program,” Endsley said. “When I was there, I asked if the director needed any help with anything, and he said, ‘Yeah, do you want to go into the dugout and be a coach?’”

And how did that end up for Endsley? 

“I went in there, and of course, got hooked.” 

After a few years of volunteering with her daughters Anna and Beth, Jennie was offered the chance to take over the directing role after the previous director left the YMCA. 

Jennie Endsley celebrating a successful Miracle Series visit from the South Hills Pirates.

Since beginning her role as director, Endsley has overseen a dramatic increase in the number of players. This past spring season had 125 total players who ranged from 4 and 5 years old up to 23 and 24 years old. 

For Endsley, that number gives her great satisfaction. It also gives her more opportunities to see growth in players: the growth that happens from week to week, as well as the growth that happens with each player season after season.

Jennie Endsley works closely with the Gameday Experience team to create and deliver memorable moments for families at the Joe Nuxhall Miracle League Fields.

“Just seeing the smiles on all the kids' faces, it doesn’t get old,” Endsley said. “Especially if they struggle hitting the ball… it takes them a while starting off on a tee, but when they finally get that hit… their face lights up. The running around the bases and all the people cheering because they know the struggle that they’ve had, it’s just phenomenal.”

Endsley points out one specific example of this on the Miracle Series trip to Gatlinburg, Tennessee in 2023.

“There was a player in Gatlinburg that was so excited about hitting a home run,” Endsley said. “And I just encouraged him. When I got up to him I said, ‘You ready to hit a home run today? Today is the day!’, and he said, ‘I’ll try,' and he did.”

Jennie Endsley with MLB Ambassador Mike Matheny at the 2023 Miracle Series.

She added, “He ran as fast as he could around those bases, it was such a fun thing to see.”

For Endsley, that is just one out of many memories for Endsley from the trip to the Smoky Mountains. 

“It was almost like a family reunion, like a family vacation,” Endsley said. “We were really having fun with the players, but having this experience at the same time… there really aren’t any words to describe it except it.”

If there was one aspect to the league that Endsley would improve, it would be a greater number of volunteers. 

Endsley said that the number of volunteers dropped off significantly after COVID, and that the league is still looking for volunteers to reach the pre-COVID level for both general volunteers and “buddies” for individual players. 

Endsley says that volunteering can be a life-changing experience. 

Elf Mode Activated: Jennie Endsley and Marlon Styles volunteering at JNMLF Christmas in July.

“These kids have more impact on me and make more of a difference on my life than I probably make in theirs,” Endsley said. “Just seeing them have fun, seeing them be able to experience something that maybe their sibling can experience and they didn’t think they would be able to. It's just a very impactful thing.” 

The fall season for the youth league begins on August 31 and runs through October 12. Games are on Saturday mornings at 9:15 am and 11:00 am. Registration for next year’s spring season will begin in January.

Sign Up to Volunteer Here

---

About The Nuxhall Foundation: The Nuxhall Foundation is the legacy foundation for former Major League Baseball pitcher and longtime Cincinnati Reds broadcaster, the late Joe Nuxhall. The Nuxhall Foundation carries forward three important legacy projects. A central project of The Nuxhall Foundation is The Joe Nuxhall Miracle League Fields—an entirely accessible baseball and recreational facility where every player with every challenge gets every chance to play. Historically, nearly 300 athletes with physical and developmental disabilities aged 4 to 80 participate in programs at the Miracle League Fields. The Joe Nuxhall Memorial Scholarship (in conjunction with the Fairfield Community Foundation) provides nearly $30,000 per year in scholarship money to student athletes at all 14 Butler County high schools. Very soon, the Joe Nuxhall Memorial Scholarship will cross the million-dollar mark in scholarship money awarded. The Joe Nuxhall Character Education Fund pitches good character to young leaders throughout Greater Cincinnati by delivering and supporting programs that stress the importance of integrity, humility, respect, and kindness. In 2024, The Nuxhall Foundation will launch a $12 million capital campaign to construct The Hope Center, a year-round recreational facility for athletes with special needs that will help to create the world's most comprehensive athletic campus for individuals with disabilities.